The invention relates to devices related to display of graphical data. More particularly, the invention relates to a pipelined graphics engine architecture.
Many different types of devices have been used to display graphics. Because graphics have been used for different purposes with different methods of distribution, many different graphics formats have been developed. For example, analog televisions receive graphical information in a different format than computer systems, which have multiple formats for graphical information.
However, as various technologies and electronics devices converge, for example, accessing the Internet via a television, graphical information is converted between formats. In order to further support convergence of technologies, further support of multiple graphical formats is desirable. For example, multi-regional graphics allows information from multiple sources that is provided in multiple formats to be displayed as a single image.
Multi-regional graphics are graphics that are displayed as a single image where different regions have different graphical formats (e.g., index, RGB with or without alpha blending, YUV). In other words, support of multi-regional graphics is the ability to simultaneously display several graphical regions with different characteristics. Multi-regional graphics capability is useful, for example, for a television set-top box for accessing the Internet. However, multi-regional graphics exceeds the current capabilities of typical display controllers.
Therefore, what is needed is an improved graphics display controller capable of supporting multi-regional graphics and providing other graphical features.
A method and apparatus for display of graphical data is described. A multi-regional image having at least two regions represented by at least two color formats is rendered in an off-screen memory. The multi-regional image is copied to an on-screen memory. The regions of the multi-regional image are converted to a common color format during the copy operation. The multi-regional image stored in the on-screen memory is displayed.